The Drinking Water: The Flint Water Crisis

The Flint Water Crisis: What went wrong, article was written by Ryan Felton in January 16, 2016. The story of the article takes place in Flint, Michigan. The city of Flint experienced a crisis that has not been experienced in any other city across the nation. The article states that what happen in flint should not have happened, a city with 100,000 residents should not have to worry about poisoned water running into their homes. The water issue started when Flint appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley, decided to switch Flint’s water source form the city of Detroit to a local Flint River. This switched was aim to find a cheap alternative water source for the residents. However, what the officials failed to do was to test the water and see

As Doidge et al. illustrate, the historical background of Flint City’s drinking water supply emanated from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. This was through a contractual basis for over three decades, and its main source of water was Lake Huron. The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department is an extensive system encompassing almost 1,080 square-miles, and provides to more than two fifths of the Michigan State population. In the year 2000 alone, the system covered 11,000 miles of water channels with a storage volume of about 360 million gallons. It supplied water to nearly four million people in Detroit and its metropolitan locale.

There are two sides to this story, the government of Flint, MI and the people who reside

In “Flint’s Water Crises: What went wrong,” Ryan Felton appeals to logic to persuade his readers that the Flint Water Crises could have been prevented because he stated that “As early as October 2014, there were problematic signs.” These signs were when General Motors engine plant stopped using Flint’s water because the engines were becoming rusty. There were also some independent studies that showed that the water contained some compounds that can cause kidney or liver issues an example, “Tests also revealed elevated levels of chemical compounds in the water supply that can lead to liver or kidney issues.” yet, officials continued to reassure residents that the water was safe to drink. Studies continued to follow that shows the water headed

In her article, Flint Water Crisis, Dr. Mona Hann-Attisha, discusses the occurrence about highly elevated, possibly but not yet actually harmful levels of lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, received national attention. She describes Flint, Michigan, was once a postindustrial home to flourishing automotive plants; the water crisis has been described as an example of government wrongdoing and disrepair by some and of a lack of omission by federal environmental regulators by others. She points to the tendency prior to a series of tests by independent researchers at Virginia Tech in October 2015, many residents found that their unease about the water’s taste, odor, and smell were being disregard intentionally by city and state officials,

The city of Flint is 70 miles away from the costs of the Great Lakes which hold the greatest sources of fresh water, yet there residents still can't get clean tap water. 15% of homes in Flint Michigan are boarded up ,40% of the people are in poverty , high unemployment rate, and consistently on a list for most dangerous places to live in the nation .In an attempt to cut budget cost in 2014 Flint stop getting pre treated water from the city of Detroit . Problems began when the city started using water from the Flint river .Flint River is 19 times more corrosive than Lake Huron (Detroit water source) . City and state officials denied for months that there was a serious problem by that time, supply pipes had sustained major corrosion and lead

In Flint Michigan studies show there was a large amount of lead in the water , because of this high turbidity in the water witch means this water is dangerous.

The Flint water crisis has left no one from the damage, even the pets are getting sick of the poisoned water. That was what residents Lee and Ernie of Flint Michigan saw with their cat. Flint is a city in Michigan with a total population of approximately one hundred thousand residents. The issue with the water for Flints and its residents stated in 2014 when the city decided to switch from their water resource from the city of Detroit to a local river. Immediately after the switch residents filed complaints about the water’s smell and color. In Ryan Felton’s “Flint’s Water Crisis: What went wrong,” it is apparent that the crisis should not have happened, and that flint was neglected just because it was an impoverished city.

There currently is a problem in the US with the government and how they cut corners with the water problem in Flint, Michigan. About two years ago, Michigan’s government decided they would save money by switching the water supply in Flint, Michigan. Before, Flint was getting their water from Lake Huron. Now, they are getting their water from the Flint River, known by it’s filth through the people of Flint. When reporters interviewed long-time residents of Flint they were shocked at the decision. The decision was supposed to be temporary, it wasn’t planned for it to go on for almost two years. Soon after the switch, the people of Flint saw the water didn’t look, smell, or taste right. It was almost as if the water was brown and you could see the dirt in it. Most people thought it was sewage but it turn out to be iron. The Flint River is highly contaminated, 19 times more so than Lake Huron. The state Department of Environmental Quality wasn’t treating the river so, the water was building up iron which caused the water to turn brown. The water was worse than it seemed, half the service line to homes in Flint are made of lead because the water wasn’t treated like it was supposed to be. The lead got into the water and mixed with the iron. The fire stations are helping with providing free bottled water and water filters for the homes. The fire stations also gave out lead testing kits

“Water is a human right”-  Michigan Nurses. Due to a lack of financial resources and government funding, the city of  Flint, Michigan began to make budget cuts. One major budget cut was the waterway from Lake Huron to Flint. Government officials decided on connecting Flint to the Flint river, which has previously raised infestation problems. After the major switch city occupants commenced to complain about the smell and taste of at home tap water.

An essential necessity for life is slowly killing residents in Michigan. The town of Flint, Michigan is slowly being poisoned by their water supply. Flint is 70 miles north of Detroit with a population of 98,310. According to the U.S. Census Bureau a little under half of residents live below the poverty line. More than fifty-five percent of the city’s population is African-American (CNN Library). The dangerous lead levels in the water went unnoticed for years, despite the residents’ complaints of discolored and foul-smelling water. The question at hand is how could this happen?

In April of 2014 Flint, Michigan started to get their water from the Flint River rather than the Detroit river that was formerly used as the main water source in hopes of saving money. The water being provided has been classified by Flint residents as smelly and murky and is avoided at all costs. It has also been discovered to cause damage to the lead pipes that transported it throughout the city. Children have been found to have high levels of lead in their blood and this may be the cause of an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease which has killed 10 people in the Flint area. People have also reported rashes from the dirty water. Video news interviews show residents holding water that is

Flint in Michigan is located 70 Miles away from the shores of large fresh water bodies, the Great Lakes. Despite this close proximity to the fresh water bodies, the residents have not been able to get the clean water. The water supply of Flint in Michigan in the United States has undergone serious water contamination crisis. The water crisis started in April 2014 (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, 2016). The contamination of drinking water began when the source of water was changed from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River. This later led to a serious contamination of the water due to lead contamination hence creating more danger in the public health. The Flint River had a corrosive nature and caused lead from the old pipes to leach into the water supply. This caused heavy metals in the water supply. This posed serious health problems. For example, six thousand to twelve thousand children were exposed to the contaminated water. The blood-lead level in children increased. The alteration in the water source was the main reason behind the water crisis in Flint.

I watch or read the news pretty regularly, but I only watch news which has the traits that I value most. The news to me isn’t about being entertained, it is about learning, in an unbiased, clear, and concise way. Other television shows can entertain, but the news should be reserved for information relevant to people’s everyday lives, allowing them to make informed decisions. I feel this way because I don’t like when a news source is pushing a hidden agenda. I look for a fair telling of both sides of the story. I also feel that because I stay relatively busy, I think it is insulting that the news would choose to waste my time with extraneous background information, off topic statements, or articles over 1,000 words. Most importantly though, It needs to be clear, if I can’t understand it, it’s the worst kind of news, no news. I have chosen three articles regarding the Flint Michigan water crisis to evaluate based on my criteria. One from CNN titled, “Water Crisis in Flint, Michigan, Draws Federal Investigation,” written by Greg Botelho, Sarah Jorgenson, & Joseph Netto, which focuses on the investigation but also background into the crisis. The next article I have chosen an article from the New York Times (NYT). This article titled, “As Water Problems Grew, Officials Belittled Complaints From Flint.” From the contributions of writers, Julia Bosman, Monica Davey, & Mitch Smith. I chose this article from other ones, because this article primarily focuses on politics like who

The article I decided to use to showcase conflict theory in the news is that of Flint Michigan’s water crisis because after thinking about the concept of conflict theory and the way it plays in our society by benefitting those in power while at the expense of those without power and wealth. Couldn’t help but think of this specific story because the residents were coerced and guided by those in power to believe that the water they were using and drinking was safe for consumption, but in truth was tainted with high levels of total coliform bacteria and lead. It all occurred when the city switched its major water supply despite complaints about the Flint River water, the government misled the residents about the safety of the water in order save